Watch Naked Science online: Episode 22 The World's Oldest Child

The World's Oldest Child In the spring of 2009, the skull and upper torso of an ancient child were discovered buried in the soil of a Moroccan cave. The archaeological team couldn't even tell if it was a boy or girl, though they opted to call it 'Bouchra', a feminine name meaning "good news." But that did little to answer the questions that swirled around 'her'. How long ago did she live? What did she look like? Was she one of us? Few answers were to be found there in the cave, but one thing was clear: this child was special. Not only because ancient human bones are rare, not only because a near-complete child's skull is an almost unique discovery, but because she hails from a period of our history that we know almost nothing about. It may be that Bouchra will shed light on one of the last great mysteries of our evolution: the development of modern thinking. Yet with little more than the few pieces of her skeleton and the dirt she was buried in to study, it remains to be seen what stories she will tell...

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